TEAM EFA LiNKS

CHARiTY OF THE MONTH PROGRAM

Each month, TEAM EFA designates one animal charity as our Charity of the Month.

All EFA Charities of the Month is the charity of choice of at least one EFA member.

EFA members who choose to donate a portion of their product sales to the EFA Charity of the Month, please tag those listings with our cotm tag.

If after the month is done & your products are still tagged with the cotm tag then those will go to benefit next month's cotm. If you wish to donate a percentage to another charity, including a -previous- cotm, please remove 'cotm' from your tag.

Using these tags helps to identify your pledge and makes it easier for shoppers & Treasury makers to locate your cotm products.

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Thursday, February 27, 2014

The California Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously this month to consider a statewide ban on wildlife killing contests after hearing testimony from representatives of Project Coyote. It's clear that these contests are not about wildlife management or even hunting, but about glorifying the senseless killing of wild animals for fun and personal gain and they need to be stopped.

Please sign this petition urging officials to put an end to this culture of violence by ensuring these types of contests never take place in California again.

Hundreds' of Yellowstone's iconic bison are in danger of being slaughtered thanks to old rules that allow for the capture and slaughter of those who wander outside of the park's boundaries. Animal advocates are opposing these rules and asking officials to protect bison who live in the area.

Please send a letter to Montana's governor and the agencies involved to tell them to stop the slaughter.

The New Jersey Assembly is considering a bill that threatens beavers and other wildlife by removing a limit on the issuance of beaver trapping permits. 200 permits can already be issued annually and each permit allows for the killing of five beavers, but state legislators have proposed to allow an unlimited number of beavers to be killed without giving an explanation or providing any justification for the move.

Please send a letter to New Jersey's lawmakers telling them to oppose this senseless and cruel bill.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Just three days after Copenhagen Zoo's decision to kill Marius, a healthy 18-month-old giraffe, sparked international outrage, news surfaced that another zoo was planning on killing another healthy young giraffe simply because he was considered a "surplus" animal.

Please sign the petition telling the Jyllands Park Zoo that killing surplus animals is an unacceptable practice and that if an animal isn't needed for the breeding program alternative plans should be made for their lifelong care.

Thousands of emperor and Adelie penguins living off the coast of Antarctica are facing increasing pressure from climate change and fishing. Conservationists are urging lawmakers to create large, fully-protected marine reserves to ensure the future survival of penguins and other species who call these waters home.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

February’s Charity of the Month is Fix Long Beach, and boy do they mean to do what they say with dogs in this city! That’s no easy task, as Long Beach is the seventh largest city in California, a state that has such behemoths as Los Angeles and San Diego. And as any rescuer knows, Southern California is famously awash in not only pit bulls, but Chihuahuas and other small dogs too, as back yard breeders and plain old lack of education keep canine birthrates high and shelters full.

What can a small charity do against such overwhelming odds? Let’s hear it from them:

“We are a group of volunteers/citizens that dedicate our time and energy to make a difference in the city of Long Beach; a difference for our animals! We provide FREE spay/neuter surgeries to low-income residents of Long Beach, CA. We are targeting people who are unable to afford having their pets fixed, even through a low cost clinic, as this segment of people need our help the most."

In addition, they educate, educate, educate. Many people simply don’t know that fixed pets are healthier, live longer, have lower license fees, won’t engage in as many problem behaviors, and generally are happier.

Plus, many people still subscribe to outdated myths about animals “needing” to have a litter, and don’t know that, as the Fix Long Beach website (www.fixlongbeach.com) states: “By spaying one female and neutering one male, more than 2,000 unwanted births can be prevented in 2 years & more than 2,000,000 in 8 years.”

Pretty impressive statistics, and pretty hard to argue with! To accomplish their goal of reducing pet overpopulation and educating pet owners they run mobile clinics so that people don’t have to get their furry friends to a vet, the vet comes to them. This removes a huge burden from low-income residents who may not have to resources to get their animal friends the medical attention they need otherwise. Each event can fix up to 40 needy dogs, but they sure aren’t free to run! Each one costs about $3500 to put on, an impossibly high bar without donations and tons of volunteers.

In addition, through donations from donors and sponsors and lots of legwork, Fix Long Beach volunteers are able to provide truly needy families with pet supplies such as food, leashes and harnesses, and even toys. For a family that is facing unemployment or other hardships, this can be a huge help.

But the animals themselves are the big winners. Through education and medical intervention, hundreds of dogs of all types have been helped and now will live longer, healthier, happier lives. There are no easy fixes, as any rescuer knows. That’s why Fix Long Beach has a subheading on their website banner: “Fix Long Beach: A community Effort.”

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Look, way up there, on top of that hill. That must be some kind of mountain goat, right? Well, not quite, although it is a member of the same subfamily. But if you’re in Asia and you’re very, very lucky, what you’re probably seeing is a goral.

Gorals are often said to be “goat-like” but in fact they have a number of cow-like characteristics. So many, in fact, that they are classed as being a small member of the bovid subfamily. To be fair, this is true of mountain goats too. But like cows they possess four-chambered stomachs and the ability to “chew cud” as well as a digestive process that can take as long as four days. That’s because their primary diet is tough grasses and shrubs, even though they’re happy to take more nutrient-dense forage like acorns when they can get them. All of which makes them a bit like sturdy, action-ready antelopes too, and in many ways they can be considered the half-way point between those delicate beasts and true goats.

Life in the high mountains can be difficult, but gorals don’t shy from extremes. While usually found between 3,000 and 8,000 feet (915 to 2,440 meters) they have been spotted as high as 13,500 feet (4,115 meters). The window for reproduction in such a place is short, so almost all babies are born in May and June after a relatively lengthy (7 month) gestation period. The kids then follow their moms everywhere for a full year, learning what it takes to survive in such a harsh environment.

Their best defense against predators is their ability to scale steep, rocky cliffs with seemingly little effort, but those horns aren’t just for show. Mother gorals are especially quick to drive off even wolves and snow leopards if given the chance.

Sadly, even the tough goral can use some help these days. They are widely hunted for sport, contend with fragmented habitat, and, due to their mountainous habitat, suffer disproportionately from climate change. In addition, there have been few studies focusing on them in the wild, leaving them without a sound conservation plan despite their IUCN Redlist status of “vulnerable.”

Want to help the Chinese goral?

A good place to start is by supporting the Snow Leopard Trust (www.snowleopard.org) since these big cats share much of the same habitat. Hopefully with a little help these two magnificent species will battle it out on Asian mountaintops for years to come.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

1. Tell the Government to Listen to Scientists and Keep Wolves Protected

An independent peer review panel just unanimously concluded that the government's plan to remove federal protections from gray wolves is scientifically flawed. Wolf advocates hope this will deliver a fatal blow to the proposal, leaving officials with no choice but to withdraw the plan and are calling on them to make good on their promises to make a decision using the best available science.

Please send a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewel and Fish and Wildlife Director Dan Ashe asking them to withdraw the plan to remove wolves from the Endangered Species Act.

Officials in Chicago are supporting a new ordinance that would ban the retail sale of dogs from puppy mills and encourage pet stores to work with rescues and rescues and shelters, which they believe will not only protect dogs by shutting puppy mills out and reducing euthanasia, but will save taxpayers in the long run.

Supporters are trying to gather signatures in support of this ordinance before a hearing on February 26. Please sign the petition urging officials in Chicago to take a stand for animal welfare and ban the retail sale of dogs from pet stores.

Thursday, February 06, 2014

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation is under fire for its newly released proposal to eradicate the state's entire population of mute swans by 2025 because they're an invasive species, even though they've been here since the 1800s. Animal advocates are calling the plan both scientifically flawed and unethical.

New York's Holley Fire Department is back at it again this year with plans to host a squirrel-killing fundraiser. Not only is this an incredibly cruel act, but teaches the community's youth that wildlife has no value other than to be used as targets.

The sage-grouse has already lost half its habitat and continues to face threats from human activities. While they're being considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act, the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are being urged to create and implement a management plan that will protect these birds from further harm.

Please sign the petition urging the BLM and FS to put a plan in place that will protect the sage-grouse and other species who live on our public lands.

Wednesday, February 05, 2014

What’s whip thin, fish fast, and comfortably cozy almost all the time? Even snake enthusiasts may be unfamiliar with this week’s charismatic critter, the Tibetan hot-spring snake (Thermophis baileyi).

Maxing out at two and a half feet long, this petite snake inhabits only about 10 sites in Tibet, all of them at over 14,000 feet elevation. How high is that? Picture Mt. Rainier or Pike’s Peak. Now imagine being a tiny animal that can’t make its own heat, stranded at the very top. I think, under the circumstances, I’d choose to spend my life in a hot spring too.

In reality, these snakes do move around, out of the water, through marshes and rocky areas, even across rivers. But they never venture far from the non-sulfurous springs where they hunt for fish and amphibians. Even the genus name, Thermophis, means “heat snake.”

Bizarrely, they don’t have any close cousins among other Asian reptiles. Their closest living relatives are all colubrids from South America. That’s because they probably diverged from other snakes about 28 million years ago, when colubrids still lived in Asia. Their brethren made the crossing over the Bering Land Bridge, leaving the Tibetan hot-spring snake behind. Who can blame them for staying? Life in a hot spring sounds like a pretty good deal.

Sadly, climate change and the expanding use of geothermal energy is threatening the hot-spring snake’s limited habitat, resulting in their classification as “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List. The fact that most people have never even heard of them makes the listing even more frightening. But hopefully, with more awareness and knowledge, this little snake will be enjoying its strange, comfortable lifestyle for many generations to come.

Tuesday, February 04, 2014

Pet overpopulation is a severe problem throughout the U.S. Every day thousands of cats, dogs, and other types of animals are euthanized because animal shelters cannot house them when they become displaced from their homes. Help save a life. Spay or Neuter.

ABOUT FIX LONG BEACH

We are a group of volunteers/citizens that dedicate our time and energy to make a difference in the city of Long Beach; a difference for our animals! We provide FREE spay/neuter surgeries to low income residents of Long Beach, CA. We are targeting people who are unable to afford having their pets fixed, even through a low cost clinic, as this segment of people need our help the most.

With the first successful event held on June 8, 2013 at Orizaba Park, Fix Long Beach made it possible for 38 cats and dogs in need to become spay or neutered. Without a doubt, the enormous financial burden that this program absorbs is astounding. Each free spay and neuter mobile clinic event performs up to 40 surgeries. The clinic is fully staffed, insured and each spay/neuter includes a microchip, pain medication and an e-collar. You can’t beat that!

The eight events scheduled thus far will spay or neuter up to 320 pets. On average a cat litter size is 3 to 5 kittens while a dog's average litter ranges for 4 to 6 puppies. Therefore, the group will avert nearly 1600 animals from unintentional births.

We are only able to do this with donations and are asking everyone for help. Anyone can support us and we are hoping to be able to organize many more spay/neuter events as possible.

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LiNKS to EFA MEMBERS

Etsy for Animals (EFA) aka Artists Helping Animals, is a team of independent artists, craftspeople, vintage sellers and craft suppliers on Etsy.com who are dedicated to providing charitable relief to animals by donating a portion of the profits from their shops to an animal charity of their choosing, and/or to EFA's featured Charity of the Month.